Habenaria Radiata
by AkaishaLoire
Summary: AU. Since the day he was born, Naruto was cursed. Cursed to be the son of the Fourth Hokage, cursed to the title through blood. But he's out to prove himself, to better himself and prove he's more than just his blood, more than just his father's son.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Habenaria Radiata

Rating: M

Pairing: Pre-Sasuke/Naruto

Warnings: None for this chapter

Summary: AU. Since the day he was born, Naruto was cursed. Cursed to be the son of the Fourth Hokage, cursed to the title through blood. But he's out to prove himself, to better himself and prove he's more than just his blood, more than just his father's son.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Author's Note: Hello, everyone, welcome to my first Naruto fan fiction in a very long time. I've read many 'what if..' fics with Minato alive or Kushina alive but none like this, so I hope you all will enjoy my take on Naruto's life if his parents had survived the events that pre-date the series. Please enjoy.

**Habenaria Radiata**

* * *

A rogue wind blew through the valley, circling around the source of it's energy, the water rippling beneath shaking feet. _I didn't want it to be this way._ Red energy seeped through, spilling anger and betrayal into the air, forcing the wind into a far more volatile spiral. _Why does it have to be this way?_ Narrowed red eyes raised to the shadow across the way, tears streaming down whiskered cheeks, mixing with blood. A pale hand outstretched, the red energy pooling to his palm, circling faster and faster creating a ball of swirling power. Across the way he heard the faint sounds of chirping and knew this was how it's meant to be.

_We'll die here. We'll die together._

-4 years earlier-

The alarm blared for the fourth time that morning, the boy in bed groaning, hand reaching out to silence the thing. His fingers fumbled, knocking the clock to the floor increasing the sound of the wailing. Giving a cry of annoyance, he picked it up, fully intending to throw it when his eyes caught sight of the time.

"Eh?! 7:55?! I'm late, -ttebayo," he cried, jumping up from his bed only to land face first against hard mats. He groaned in pain, turning over to untangle his foot from the troublesome sheet that had caught him. With that aside he scrounged up a t-shirt, giving it a quick sniff before pulling it on. He had slept in his pants and he wasn't entirely sure on their state of cleanliness but they'd have to do. Grabbing his shoe he hopped across the room pulling it on, stumbling around as he looked for the other. "Where is it? Where is it?" he muttered, turning over everything to find the other. Sighing he grabbed his coat, pulling it on and zipping it up before redoubling his efforts for his shoe. After two tense minutes he found it wedge between his dresser and bed, how it ended up there he knew not, but he made a note to clean his room later; way later.

With his other shoe in hand he made a run for the door, half hopping trying to pull his other shoe on as he headed for the door. He heard a voice calling out to him but he had no time to stop. Once the stubborn shoe was on he took off at full speed, jumping atop roofs, taking every short cut he knew to get to the academy. He knew it would take a full ten minutes to get there and by the time he landed in the play yard next to the lone swing he knew he was way late. The yard was empty, the school silent, which meant everyone had already started the exam, which meant he'd get points stomach gave a painful jerk, scolding him for missing breakfast but he couldn't pay it mind now. This was his chance, his day to become a genin; breakfast was not a necessity today. Slapping his cheeks twice in preparation he hurried into the school, finding his classroom, sliding the door open in his usual dramatic fashion. Everyone looked up at him, their pencils stopping their movements on the written portion. "You're late," their scarred sensei scolded. The boy gave a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head. The brunette shook his head, pointing to the empty seat with the upside down test. "You have no extra time, so you better work fast or you'll fail again."He grinned, folding his arms casually behind his head, walking to his seat. The other students returned to their tests, shaking their heads at his casual down in his seat he flipped over his test, his eyes scanning the page before they went to the top. These tests were pre-dated and pre-named. He should have expected it. No, he knew it was coming, but that didn't stop the weight that fell directly on his head, down into his stared at the paper for a good minute then two, then three, completely unmoving. His sensei tilted his head, looking at the boy. "Is there something wrong? You know, you're not expected to know the answer to every question, just answer to the best of your ability."

The boy looked up, blue eyes narrowed for a moment before closing in a smile, fingers scratching a mess of blonde spikes. "I don't know any of these answers, guess I won't be a genin this year." With that the boy stood up, picked up the test and made a show of ripping it straight down the center before leaving the room much to the shock of his classmates and he wanted was to be a genin, and as he walked around his home village, kicking rocks he wondered if he made a stupid decision just now. But then the name at the top of the page glared at him, telling him what he already knew would happen. His sensei would grade the test just as fairly as any other, but his sensei wouldn't be the one grading it, his higher ups would be. He was already 12 years old and those people would only glance at his name and that would be that, he would be a genin based on blood. He wouldn't take the physical part of the test, he wouldn't even have to answer correctly on the written portion. All he had to do was hand it in with that name at the top and his future was set. It was a curse, a stupid came to at stop as he caught sight of a poster announcing a celebration festival for the 10th anniversary of the Yondaime Hokage's reign. Without a thought he grabbed the paper, tearing it down, ripping it to shreds. A few villagers stopped, muttering about what a ruffian he was or how disrespectful he was. The shop owner came out, brandishing a broom intending to run him off, only to stop short. "Most honorable son, I didn't recognize you. How are you today?"

He shook his head, jumping up to a roof top, dashing off aimlessly. _Most honorable son. _That phrase range in his head like a curse, like a second weight in his stomach.

Coming to a stop he crouched down, sitting on a random roof, digging in his pocket. He pulled out his academy ID, looking at his painted face and rogue pose. Any other child would have gotten in trouble for such a thing, but not him. No. They laughed and simply said 'Most honorable son, your humour is quite like your mother's.' He begged them for three hours straight to put his name as 'Uzumaki' but they did not listen, instead he ended up with 'Namikaze' on his ID, the name that haunted him. When his mother had seen it she smiled and said they could make their own; a true Uzumaki style ID.

He sighed. He didn't hate his father by any means. To the contrary, he loved his father more than anything. But when your father is the Hokage, such a Hokage that saved the village, people treated you differently. They didn't see his talent or skills, they saw his father's or mother's and assumed he was the same way. He spent his entire school years acting like an idiot just to get attention. Albeit, he was rather dense and he liked pulling pranks and he knew this, he got it from his mother, but he had studied hard to make his parents proud. It was hard for him, but he tried, and he had to hide the effort because if he studied hard in class they would end up saying 'What proper behavior the most honorable son presents.'Why couldn't he just be Naruto?"Oi, usuratonkachi!"

He jumped in surprise at the voice, his eyes shifting downward only to find onyx staring back at him. A small smile spread on his face at that condescending tone, a slight rush of relief pouring over him like an ice cold bath. "Oi, teme!""Mind getting down from the roof? People are complaining."

It was then Naruto looked around, recognizing the familiar lay out of the Uchiha family complex. He had been here a dozen and a half times growing up, having stayed the night at least a hand full of those times. It must have be instinct that led him a sigh, he shoved his ID into his pocket, hopping down from the onyx eyed boy looked at him in amusement, motioning with his head towards the direction of the tea room. He turned to walk off, Naruto's eyes landing on the red and white paper fan adorning the back of the boy's blue shirt. That fan reminded him why the boy in front of him was his greatest rival but also his best friend. Nobody in this village understood him except for this boy, even if he wanted to deny it to the point that it was almost insulting."Iruka-sensei is going to let you retake the test."

Naruto sighed, looking down at a stray leaf wondering if he could be carried in the wind like that too. "Of course he is."

"What was that? You're muttering."

"Ah! I said of course he is! He can't let the future Hokage fail like that, dattebayo," he beamed, folding his arms behind his head. His best friend was not fooled, not even by a long shot. Those black eyes looked him over before the boy pushed him hard enough to knock him back. "Oi, teme! What was that for?!" he shouted, jumping up and rubbing his behind.

"Stop sulking, dobe. What does it matter if the test says Namikaze Naruto or Uzumaki Naruto? You're still the same dobe. You're still going to fail."

"Hey, are you trying to cheer me up, teme?"

"Ch'," the boy looked away, shaking his head. "Not even a little bit."

"Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense but I guess that's one thing you'll never understand about me, Sasuke. You have your whole family here. Your grandparents, your cousins, your aunts and uncles, but for me, I only have my mom and dad. My dad's parents passed away before I was born and the Uzumaki clan, well, they were wiped out from what mom told me and after the nine tails incident I'm her only son. So you see? I like the Uzumaki name better but they keep calling me Namikaze so they can pass me and show me off like some kind of prize. 'oh, we have the most honorable son amongst us…'…"

"Are you trying to justify your reasoning for stomping out?""OI! WERE YOU NOT LISTENING AT ALL, -TTEBAYO?!"The boy smirked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his white shorts. "I tend to have selective hearing where you're concerned.""OI!"

"Come on, the tea will be ready soon," that being said the onyx led the blonde off, the blonde chasing him, cursing his name to the heavens.

* * *

Naruto looked at the test in his hands, his eyes shining as he stared at the large red '67%' next to a messily written 'Uzumaki Naruto'. "Naruto, if you wish to retake the test at a later date-"

"What are you talking about Iruka-sensei?" he cut off, jumping on top of the desk. "I passed! This means I'm genin, right? And they graded me just like everyone else?"

"Well, yes, but 67% is the lower score in the class, you understand? And it might not reflect-" Iruka gave a grunt of surprise when the full force of the boy's weight came crashing into him, taking him into a death grip of a hug."I passed! All on my own! I passed!"

Iruka smiled down at the boy, patting his head. "First class is Monday, try not to be late, alright?"

Naruto beamed, pearly whites practically gleaming in the lights of the class room before the boy was gone in a flash, leaving a trail of smoke behind ANBU had the physical capability of being startled they surely would have been when the flash of the boy came crashing through the hall of Hokage tower. He practically ripped the door off the Hokage's office before anyone could grab a hold of him, the man inside looking up with a smile. "DAD! I PASSED!"

The blonde Hokage smiled, waving off the ANBU who no doubt had looks of confusion on under their masks. Son or not, they couldn't have someone tearing into the tower like that. "Did you, now?" Carefully, he pried the test from his son's hands, looking it over. "67%, Naruto? I know you could do better than this."

"Well, I kind of improvised on some questions, to see if they were paying attention," he admitted, scratching his head as he climbed into a chair."Write the correct signs for executing a substitution jutsu?" the man chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't let your mother see this, she'll be questioning me on why you answered 'take off your clothes and dance under a full moon covered in pie'."

"It was night time, and I really wanted mom's apple pie that she made yesterday."

"Of course," smiled the Hokage, peering at his son who now sat in a crouching position, almost like a fox waiting to pounce. "Naruto, what are the correct signs for a substitution jutsu."

His son gave a pout, his blue eyes rolling towards the ceiling. "Ram, boar, ox, dog and snake, in that order. But advanced ninja at Jounin and ANBU level can execute the jutsu with chakra control alone making the hand signs superfluous."

Yondaime smiled, his eyes closing in pride with a wide grin. "Glad to know you pay attention to your mother. Now hurry home, Kushina is making gyudon for supper, tell her I'll be along in a bit."

Naruto hopped down from the chair, taking his test back from his father shoving it into his coat pocket. He turned to leave, stopping when his father called out his name. "I'm proud of you, Naruto." Naruto raised his coat sleeve, covering his eyes. Ninja didn't next morning Naruto was the first to arrive to his classroom, sitting at his desk, putting his feet up on the table. His hands adjusted his hitai-ate repeatedly, fingers running over the swirling symbol that officially marked him a ninja of the Leaf Village.

Admittedly, he was a good hour early but today would be the day he got his team and met his sensei. This was a big day for genin, he knew that. His own father had trained an impressive team of genin when Naruto was little, he wondered faintly whatever happened to them. "Hmm…"

Giving a yawn, he folded his arms behind his head closing his eyes to rest for a couple of a minutes. Those couple of minutes were rudely ruined by someone kicking him unceremoniously to the floor. His eyes found the wall clock showing it had, in actuality, been nearly a full hour. Regardless, he jumped up in anger, glaring at the perpetrator of the action. "Find somewhere else to sleep, dobe."

"Sasuke-teme!" he hissed, jumping up onto the desk in front of Sasuke, glaring the boy down as the boy took his seat, leaning back slightly to stare Naruto in the eyes.

"What is he even doing here? This class is for genin only," he heard a girl say in the back. His glare turned towards the light haired blonde who immediately averted her eyes, whispering to her friend. Naturally, she would say things behind his back but once he issued a dare to say it to his face she would back down. He tsked to himself ready to give the girl a piece of his mind when suddenly he felt a push from behind him. Before he could stop it the forward momentum sent him forward, tumbling into the boy in front of him landing firmly in his lap before the chair gave out sending them both into a heap on the scraped as newly appointed genin hurried to see what happened, peering over their tables to see. Oynx bore down into blue in a glare, blue narrowing to return the glare. "Uh, sorry about that, I didn't notice you," said the pusher.

Naruto waved him off, focusing on the boy hovering over him and the fact that he wasn't moving. "Would you get off me, teme?"

"Your leg is pinning mine, dobe."

Naruto peered down to their legs which were in fact a tangled mess, pinning each other, the chair effectively blocking all easy escape roots. He shifted a little, trying to get his leg free from the bars of the chair. Unfortunately this caused the chair to shift making both boys groan in pain as the metal dug into both their calves. "Usuratonkachi," he hissed.

"Don't move, -ttebayo. If I can slide my leg to the left we'll be free, -ttebayo."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, using his hands to keep his weight off of Naruto. Naruto shifted, pushing against his leg against the chair, knocking the chair free effectively freeing them in return. Unfortunately, yet again, the fates had other plans for today as a turn for the worse made things even worse when the chair teetered back bumping Sasuke, sending the boy forward. Shrieks filled the room, girls yelling at Naruto to stop kissing Sasuke immediately and with more emphasis then they ever used in a jutsu.

To be honest, he wasn't kissing him, he was awkwardly laying there with Sasuke's lips on his, blue eyes widened in surprise. In books this was the ideal situation for starting a romance as portrayed in his godfather's writing; but to the girls he was apparently stealing Sasuke's first kiss.

Both boys were to stunned to move, their lips almost stuck together; both afraid to move in case the situation worsened itself. How it could neither one was sure, though fate probably had a few tricks in her sleeves.

"What's going on?" Iruka-sensei called, having just entered the classroom to a bout of commotion. Both boys took the opportunity to jump apart, trying to get as far away from each other as the room would allow.

"You taste like ramen, don't you brush your teeth, dobe?" the onyx glared, wiping his mouth, the girls hurrying to his side to console him.

Naruto returned the glare spitting rather dramatically. "Yeah, well you taste like..like..YOU TASTE LIKE AN UCHIHA!"

"What does that even mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything! It means-""Okay, okay, enough," Iruka called, trying to usher his class back to their seats to hand out their assignments.

It took a full ten minutes to get everyone back to their seats, Naruto still continually muttering under his breath about bad tasting Uchihas and how that was a legitimate argument. Iruka shook his head, hurriedly reading out the assignments before another fight broke out. "Team 7 will be Uchiha Sasuke, Namikaze-"

"ITS UZUMAKI!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura.""Wait?! WHY AM I WITH HIM?!" Naruto shouted, pointing to Sasuke. Yes, they were friends, but they were rivals first and he couldn't have his rival spying on him, that completely defeated the purpose of all future bouts.

"It was decided by the test scores, Naruto. Sasuke got the highest score, you got the lowest, so you two were paired together."

"EH?!" He hadn't known that detail. If he had known that he wouldn't have scored so low, now he was stuck with Sasuke who would be able to see all his best moves and figure out how to beat bell rang over head, Iruka sighing in relief. "You'll reconvene in thirty minutes to meet your sensei. Please enjoy your lunch."

The girls rushed to pull out their bentos, all of them practically tripping over themselves to get to Sasuke first. Sasuke looked at them for a brief moment before setting off on his own, Naruto smiling at them saying he'd happily take their lunches. The girls scoffed, walking off in a huff to eat on their own or with their girlfriends. Naruto shrugged, grabbing his lunch and heading up to the roof where he knew Sasuke had gone.

"Man, those lunches sure smelled good. Not as good as my mom's but still-" he commented, stepping out on to the stabled part of the roof. Sasuke always sat up here for lunch, like his own private hiding spot. Nobody seemed to know this except Naruto.

"Not interested," Sasuke muttered, focusing on his homemade omelet rice. Naruto sat next to him, opening his box, smiling at the leftovers from last night; his mother made the best gyudon ever. Snapping his chopsticks he set into his meal, chewing rather loudly with his mouth open. "Can't you eat like a human?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Naruto smiled through a mouth full of rice. He swallowed, taking a big gulp of juice. "Like, most of the time I have to sit up and cut into small bits and eat properly for my dad's dinners, I deserve to eat like a cow sometimes.""Only you would see the logic in that."

"Yep," he beamed, looking around the play yard. "Ne, Sasuke-teme, what do you know about Haruno Sakura?" he questioned, pulling the draw of his bento, pulling out a couple of cookies, handing one to the boy next to glanced at him in question, taking the cookie, wondering what he was going on about.

"Well, she's our other teammate, right? I mean, she's that girl with the pink hair, the really pretty one but that's all I know, -ttebayo. When I think about it I can't think of anything special about her in class, -ttebayo. Like is she good at genjutsu or taijutsu? Does she have a kekkei genkai?"

"Hmph, I don't know. I don't pay attention to our classmates."

"Not even me?"

"I'm sorry, were you saying something, dobe?"

Naruto glared at his friend, pushing the boy's shoulder. "Man, why do we have to be teammates? I was hoping to learn some really cool jutsu in secret so I could take you down. How can I be Hokage if I can't down 'Prodigy Uchiha Sasuke'?""You shouldn't have failed."

"I DIDN'T KNOW THEY'D PAIR US LIKE THIS!"

"Don't shout, dobe. Besides, if I was a prodigy I'd already be chunin," he sighed, poking around his rice. "No, I'd already be ANBU, wouldn't I? Itachi was. He was ANBU captain by my age, and I'm barely graduating as a genin. Some prodigy.""Oi, teme, don't talk like that, geez! Your brother is kind of a freak, dattebayo. I mean, come on, my dad didn't graduate the academy till he was 10 and he's an awesome ninja, right, -ttebayo? Who graduates at 7?! Other than your brother?"

"You suck at cheering people up, usuratonkachi."

Naruto raised his chopsticks, glaring at his friend. "Don't make me stab you with these. It will hurt, dattebayo."Sasuke shook his head, giving the tiniest hint of a smile. "What an idiot."After lunch they reconvened in the classroom as instructed. The other teams seemed to have already met their senseis and had set off on what Naruto declared to be 'top secret, super secret, mega secret, ninja training.' Sakura sat at a desk, staring dreamily at Sasuke, said boy resting his chin on his hands. "Maa, I'm bored," Naruto complained, hoping up and grabbing an eraser from the white board."What are you doing, dobe?""Playing a prank," he whistled, pulling a chair over to the door to set the eraser on the door.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "If that actually worked on a Jounin they wouldn't be Jounin, would they?"

"Hey, I learned this one from my mom and if sensei is late then it's his fault." With the eraser precariously balanced Naruto hopped down from the chair, pushing the chair back into it's place behind the desk. Hurriedly, he took a seat next to Sasuke, whistling innocently. Sakura shook her head, turning to look as the door slowly began to open. The eraser quivered in its uneasy balance, their sensei opening the door just a crack, sticking his head through just enough for the eraser to fall on his silver head, powdering with chalk dust. Their sensei leaned down, picking up the eraser, turning it over in his hands. "Up to the same old tricks, Naruto?"

"Eh? Nii-san!" Naruto jumped up from his seat, running over and hugging the older man, practically tackling him. "You're my sensei?!"

The silver haired ninja looked down at the mass of yellow and orange, before his one uncovered eye found his other two students. "Yo," he said, raising one hand in a wave. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, and I'll be your sensei."

-chapter 1 end-


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Habenaria Radiata

Rating: M

Pairing: Pre-Sasuke/Naruto

Warnings: None for this chapter

Summary: AU. Since the day he was born, Naruto was cursed. Cursed to be the son of the Fourth Hokage, cursed to the title through blood. But he's out to prove himself, to better himself and prove he's more than just his blood, more than just his father's son.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Author's Note: This update came rather quickly, I hope anyone reading this doesn't mind. Updates will come regularly when I'm not working. I have at least the entirety of the first series planned out in this AU timeline so hopefully updates will be regular. I thank everyone that read the first chapter already, seeing as it was posted less than 24 hours ago. My ramblings aside, do please enjoy the second chapter. I apologize for any mistakes as I basically skim beta my own story.

**Habenaria Radiata**

* * *

Naruto beamed as he sat on the stairs, arms holding the stair as he rocked back and forth staring at his sensei. "Ne, nii-san, where did you-""Naruto, I'm your sensei now, so it would be appropriate for you to call me 'Kakashi-sensei'."

His nose scrunched in distaste, his tongue rolling over the sound. "That sounds weird.""Wait, so Naruto knows you? Isn't that an unfair advantage for him?" argued Sakura, hands on her hips, staring her sensei down.

"Depends on how you define 'know'," he hummed, pulling out his book. "Naruto's father was my sensei. I was around Naruto constantly when he was young. He latched onto the title and it stuck." He licked his finger, turning a page. "As for 'unfair advantage', I grew up around the brat, I already know he has no talent."

"Oi! Nii-san!"

"Sensei," he corrected. "But my past is not the point of my current exercise. The current exercise is for me to get to know you three and for you three to get to know each other." Another page turned over. "You, with the pink hair, you can go first."

"Oh." Sakura sat up straight, flattening her hair, putting stray pieces into place. "What exactly do you want to know, sensei? Getting to know someone can mean a lot."

"Name, likes, dislikes, anything you want to share, I'm not really particular."

"Well, my name is Haruno Sakura. I like, um, well, it's more of a person that I like." Her eyes shifted to the quiet boy next to her, his eyes trained straight ahead, not even paying her heed. She blushed in embarrassment, bringing her fists to her mouth, shaking back and forth. "And well, my dislikes…I think I dislike..umm…NARUTO!" she blurted out, covering her mouth immediately. "What I mean is-"

"OI! How can you dislike me?! I don't even talk to you much, Sakura-chan! Geez!"

"THAT'S A LIE! WHO COMES UP TO A GIRL AND SAYS 'YOU'RE PRETTY' AND RUNS OFF!" she shouted, pointing her finger at him accusingly before stopping herself and sitting down. "I'm sorry, most honorable son, I didn't mean to shout at you.""WAIT! I'm getting called out for something I did when I was 8? How is that fair?! And don't call me that! And why is telling a girl she's pretty a bad thing?! You are pretty, geez! You're like my mom!"

"Are you calling me old?!"

"ARE YOU CALLING MY MOM OLD?!"

"Now, now," Kakashi called, making a down motion with his hand, eye still trained on his book. "Sasuke, why don't you go next?"

"But I wasn't done," cut in Sakura, afraid she had made a bad impression.

"That's fine, we'll have plenty of time to learn the rest. Sasuke, go ahead."

Sasuke sighed, raising his head from his folded hands. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I like training and dislike useless people." His eyes shifted pointedly at Naruto for which the boy glared, raising his fist and punching the Uchiha across the back of his head. Sasuke groaned in pain, immediately turning, grabbing a fist full of Naruto's orange coat, glaring at him. "You really want to start this, dobe?""Now, now, violence is never the answer," hummed Kakashi, turning another page, waving his hand at them. "Sasuke, drop Naruto, you can pummel each other later. Naruto, introduce yourself and make it short."

Naruto huffed, pushing away from Sasuke, sitting down. His hands went to his hitai-ate, puffing his chest out in pride. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and my likes are-"

"I thought your last name was Namikaze?" Sakura interrupted."SENSEI! SAKURA-CHAN INTERRUPTED ME, -TTEBAYO!"

"Now, now, no need to interrupt." Another page was turned, Kakashi making the same motion as before.

"Anyways, my likes are ramen and my mom's sweets, she makes the best cakes in Konoha and my dislikes are being called 'most honorable son' and Uchihas with stupid haircuts, dattebayo."

Sasuke stood, ready to pummel Naruto right at that moment when their sensei stood, closing his book. "Well, that was informative, now wasn't it?"

"Were you even paying attention?!" All three of his students called in unison, making him blink.

"I was paying attention enough, come along, I have a test for the three of you."

Naruto hopped up, arms crossing behind his head. "Is it gonna be the bell test? Dad used that against you guys, right? He told me all about it."

"Did he tell you how to get the bells?"

"Well, no, he said that's something I'd have to figure out the answer to when the day came, dattebayo." Blue eyes shifted to the sky before going to Kakashi. "Hey, did my dad pick you as my sensei on purpose?"

"Believe it or not, Naruto, not everything is dictated by your family name. This just happened to be randomly decided."

"Not everything, but close to everything, -ttebayo!""Why is he even complaining?" Sakura sighed, coming to stand by Sasuke. "Are we supposed to say 'poor rich boy has everything handed to him?'. I mean, he just doesn't know how good he has it. He has no idea what its like being a normal person, that's why no one in class likes him. He puts on airs like he doesn't like it, but we all know he loves the attention and-"

"Don't talk about things you don't know anything about," he cut off, picking up his pace, coming to walk next to Naruto. "Oi, dobe, my mom told me to ask if you're coming for dinner on Friday or not."

"Friday?" scratching his head in recollection he beamed, giving a thumbs up. "Yep! Dad is working late that night so me and mom are going to come over and we'll take leftovers to him after we're done. Your brother is coming home on Friday, right, -ttebayo?"

"That's what he said."

Sakura blinked and ran to catch up to the other boys, not sure why Sasuke had randomly shunned her. Had she said something wrong? "Oh, your brother? What rank is he?"

"ANBU."

"That's so cool, Sasuke-kun! What animal mask does he wear? Is he well known?"

"His is a cat," he answered walking ahead of the group. Naruto looked at Sakura, feeling sympathy for the girl."You don't know much about Sasuke-teme, do you, Sakura-chan?"

"Eh?! I know enough! Like he likes girls with long hair and he likes girls that can cook."

"Sakura-chan, you're really pretty but you're clueless when it comes to Sasuke-teme, -ttebayo."

"Are you calling me stupid?!" she yelled, raising her fist punching him her hardest over the back of his head.

"OW!" he cried, covering his head, crouching on the ground. "What was that for?!""Alright, enough you two, save your energy for training because as Naruto knows, this test will be no easy task." Holding up two bells he smiled behind his mask and the task was set.

* * *

Naruto panted, laying on the ground, his arms above his head. Sakura lay next to him her hair splayed out, her eyes red from what Kakashi had said was a rather cruel genjutsu, and maybe a bit to harsh for the 12 year old girl. Sasuke looked over at them, his breathe short and muscles aching but all together he was the least effected by the endless fruitless test. "So, what did we learn?" Kakashi questioned, turning a page in his book.

"This test was about teamwork," answered Sasuke, stomach growling as he eyes looked over at the bento boxes Kakashi was currently guarding."And what did you three lack?"

"Teamwork," Naruto pouted. "But, sensei, Sasuke is my rival! Why is it my responsibility to bail him out?"

"Oi, usuratonkachi, who are you having to bail out? What good did you do other than a shadow clone?"

"Better than Mr. I shot fire out of my mouth, -ttebayo! How was that meant to do anything?!"

"You were both show-boating," Kakashi inputted. "You were trying to show up each other, which in turn was your disadvantage, and you, Sakura-chan. You had an opening to help Naruto, you could have easily snuck in and helped him retrieve a bell, instead you responded to a genjutsu of Sasuke."

"But I-""And how did I know to use Sasuke against her?"

"Because she stated in her introduction that she liked me," Sasuke answered."Correct! You made clear that your weakness was a person, just like Naruto made his food, but his father has no doubt trained him to ignore obvious traps like bento boxes left in the open."

Rubbing his growling stomach, Naruto groaned. "I wanted to go for them so bad.""However, though you avoided the obvious trap you opted into working alone. You put a rivalry before a friendship and on the battlefield that could lead to death. Sasuke, you showed a similar sentiment. You were more interested in showing every trick in your arsenal as opposed to helping your friend. I know it's not the ideal thing that you want to hear, but there maybe a time one day where you'll have to put aside everything and do what is right but Shinobi law, understand that."

The book closed with a dull thump, Kakashi rising to his feet, picking up the bento boxes. "Going ahead and eat, and play nice."

"Alright! Oi, teme, give me your daikon radish. I know you don't eat them so don't even come up with an excuse."

"Whatever, just take the thing."

"In exchange you can have my tomatoes," he beamed, picking out the round fruits, placing them over into his box. Sakura stared between the two of them, feeling like she was staring at the unattainable.

* * *

Friday morning when Sakura received a letter in her letter box a number of things came to mind. Another mission was the first, they had done several since Monday, mainly D rank things, very simple things like deliveries or raking and gardening. Sasuke and Naruto found it all trivial but they weren't allowed anything higher, even if Naruto's father was the one dishing out the assignments. She learned quickly that the man was very kind and very fair, even when his son was concerned. From what she saw he treated Naruto the same as any genin that walked through Hokage tower.

With this thought planted firmly in her mind she opened the letter, staying at an unfamiliar scrawl. It wasn't Sasuke's handwriting, she had seen it over his shoulder many times, he was very neat when writing. Naruto's was really messy, she had seen that when he signed his name. No, this scrawl was hurried but precise. Maybe her sensei's?

_You're invited to dinner at Uchiha Manor. 18:30. Do not be late._

The squeal of excitement that came from her mouth was only audible to dogs, she was sure. But once her eyes registered the message and reread it enough time for it to get to her brain she was unable to keep from crying in joy. She had to pick an outfit, and a ribbon for her hair, and the right make-up, the right shoes, this would be the most important night of her life and she couldn't show up looking like a washed up commoner.

With Inner Sakura screaming in joy over meeting their future in-laws Sakura ran to her room spending the next several hours designing an entire wardrobe from head to toe before heading out, telling her parents not to wait up.

It had taken her several hours to decide on the pink sundress she was currently wearing. It was almost like her pull over she wore for ninja activities except it was an actual dress with spaghetti straps and a hem ending at just above her knees. She had made this dress with her mother last summer, making it pink with white sakura petals on the bottom half of it. A pair of pink strap sandals adorned her feet, these were picked up in the market for cheap. Together the pieces looked good together and were complimented by the white daisy she put in her braided hair. She felt it was the perfect outfit for a young lady greeting her could be, would be, future in-lawns. Accompanied with light touches of make-up and glitter, the package was legs grew shaky as she approached the gates of Uchiha manor, two men standing guard outside it, both obviously Uchiha if their coloring was anything to go by. "I-I was invited for dinner with Uchiha Sasuke-kun," she told them, berating herself for stuttering. The two men nodded, moving to the middle of the gate, pushing it open. The right Uchiha looked around, calling for an escort. Many Uchihas walked past, looking at her, giving her looks that clearly said she did not belong here.

"I'll escort her," a low voice answered, the two guards bowing low at the waist. Sakura turned, her inner's mouth dropping open in shock. Drool ran down her inner's mouth as the girl stared at the Uchiha dressed to the nine in Anbu gear, his mask situated to the side of his head as common with ANBU not on duty. "This way," he motioned, leading her off in what direction she didn't care. If she thought before there wasn't a human on this planet as beautiful as Sasuke she was dead wrong.

"U-um..I'm Haruno Sakura. I-I just graduated from the academy," she stuttered, blushing man glanced back at her, his onyx eyes meeting her own green ones and her inner couldn't help but swoon. "Uchiha Itachi. I'm an ANBU captain."

"O-oh? Really? That's really cool. You look so young, you must be very talented."

"I'm 17," he answered, continuing his path through the rows of homes. His answers were short, but polite, unlike Sasuke's own who tended to have a slight undertone of an edge to them. She wondered faintly if the two were closely related somehow. They were both Uchihas, so of course they were related, but were they like cousins? Second cousins? She didn't know."Nii-san!"

Sakura could hear herself audibly gasp in shock as the Uchiha Sasuke came hurrying down a set of wooden steps, hugging the man in front of her tightly. Itachi smiled, returning his younger brother's hug. This was the first time she had ever shown Sasuke show any form of emotion other than indifference and it was definitely the first time she had seen him smile. His smile was not a disappointment.

"You said you'd be back before I graduated."

"Ah, sorry, the mission took longer than expected. I heard you passed with top marks. Congratulations, little brother."

"My scores weren't near as high as yours, but don't think I won't grow my skills. Next time we spar, nii-san, I'm going to win."

"OI! Sasuke-teme! How about I beat you and then I can beat Itachi-san FOR YOU?! I'm going to be next Hokage after all, gotta test out my ANBU captain." Sakura turned to Naruto, blinking in surprise at how casually dressed he was, in nothing but pajama pants and a white tshirt. She opened her mouth to scold him when Itachi cut her off."I apologize, I was being rude. Little brother, a friend of yours was outside." He motioned to her, Naruto waving.

"Sakura-chan! You look nice!"

"Thank you, Naruto, but what on earth are you wearing?" she gritted out.

"Eh?" he looked down. "I always wear this when I'm at Sasuke-teme's place, it's comfortable and Mikoto-san told me to be comfortable."

Mikoto-san?

"The dinning room is this way," said Sasuke, motioning with his hand before going back up the steps that led to the walk way. Sakura blushed as he sandals clacked against the wood, an echoing roar over Naruto and Sasuke's own bare feet. One sliding door, two sliding doors, when they got to the third Sasuke stopped and slid it opened, Naruto running inside like he lived there himself. Sakura paused next to Itachi, removing her sandals.

"Tadaima!" the man called out alerting a black haired woman to his presence. Sakura was certain this apron wearing housewife type was Sasuke and Itachi's mother. The woman had soft eyes echoed only by her even softer smile. She came through to the entryway, a soup ladle in one hand which she brandished at Naruto telling him not to break another of her vases.

Uchiha-san's voice was soft as she greeted her eldest son. "Welcome home, Itachi." Her steps were silent as she moved forward, giving her son a kiss on the forehead. "Your father is waiting to hear all about your mission."

"Has he congratulated Sasuke yet? Discussed any of his missions?"

The woman shook her head in dejection, giving a small frown.

"Then, until he does, he won't be hearing about my missions."

His mother gave a small nod before turning to Sakura, her hostess smile returning. "You must be Haruno Sakura, Kushina told me you'd be joining us. Everyone is already in the sitting room if you care to join them. Itachi, get changed and washed up, if you please."

"Sorry for the intrusion," Sakura bowed, the woman before her shaking her head telling her it was no intrusion at all. Itachi politely acquiesced to his mother's request and proceeded off to a different section of the manor. Sakura swallowed a growing nerve building in her throat before stepping up to the tatami mats and walking into what she felt was the lion's den.

What she expected was far from what she found. Her projection of Uchiha etiquette was fancy clothing, straight backs, and pencil thin frowns with engaging conversation. She came upon the opposite. Naruto had his head laying in a red-headed woman's lap, the woman dressed in a simple blue dress, her bangs pinned back by a simple barrette. This women didn't seem phased by the blonde at all, in fact she was lovingly rubbing her hands through the mess of spikes atop his head. Sasuke was laying opposite them, a smile on his face as he laughed at some kind of anecdote the red-head spoke.

Blue eyes found Sakura's, a big familiar goofy grin filling the woman's feature. "Come in, -ttebane!"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan, come join us, -ttebayo."

"You're Naruto's mother," she whispered, louder than intended, making the woman giggle."That's my given name, -ttebane. Everyone else calls me Kushina."

"Or red-hot habanero, ne, kaa-chan?"

"Oi, brat, remember who you're talking to, -ttebane."

Apprehensively, Sakura came forward, taking a seat next to Sasuke who immediately sat up. "I'm Haruno Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto's teammate."

"Kakashi told me, dattebane. Thought it was rude that you weren't invited, so I had him send word to you. Thought we could get to know you. Sorry my husband won't be here tonight, but he's busy, -ttebane."

"He better be busy finding us a good mission! I'm tired of the sad D-ranked stuff!" groaned Naruto. "I want real ninja work, dattebayo."

"Naruto, you know-"

"You either talk to him or I won't speak to you for the duration I'm home!"The occupants of the room looked up at the rather calm but still demanding voice. Two voices were coming from the room next door, one silently muffled while the other was clearly audible.

"Every time I come home you do this! You rain praise on me and shove Sasuke away into a corner, I'm tired of it! And every time you use the same excuse that I'm the heir, that I'm more important! Why is one son more important than the other?!"

"They're at it again," Uchiha-san sighed, placing food on the table, looking down at her hands. "Sasuke, come help me with plates, please."Sasuke looked to the separator before standing up and heading into the kitchen.

"You want me to choose?! Is that what you want? I choose Konoha, I always have and I always will. If anyone deserves to be the head of this clan it's Sasuke, like I've told you several times over. I'm not interested. Why don't you try showering him with love and affection and see how he grows?"

"So, Sakura-chan," Naruto began, trying to find a subject of conversation to ease the tension in the air. "It'd be better if we could get a C-rank mission right?"

"I'm done! Disown me. I don't care."

Sakura's eyes stay trained on the separator, her mouth try to form a coherent response as the paper door slide open. Itachi stared at everyone in the room before giving a small smile. "I apologize for my behavior," he bowed. "Kushina-san, how are things?"

"They're great, -ttebane. Naruto just graduated and he's been going on missions a lot lately, earning a bit of allowance every time. Teaches him responsibility, makes him strong, -ttebane. Which means he can treat his mother to ramen!"

"EH?! Why do I have to treat, -ttebayo?!"

"OI! UNGRATEFUL! I CARRIED YOU FOR NINE MONTHS, -TTEBANE! LEAST YOU COULD DO IS BUY YOUR MOTHER RAMEN!"

"Kushina-chan, no need to yell," Uchiha-san laughed, bringing in the last of the food, Sasuke on her heels with the plates. The two Uchihas set the table, calling everyone over, Naruto being the first to the table, taking the cushion next to Sakura. Sakura gave a small smile, not really wanting to tell Naruto that she wanted to be next to Sasuke, what with both their mothers in the room. Sasuke, did however, sit across from her, next to his elder brother. Itachi placed his hand on his brother's head, smiling fondly at the younger boy as their mother took one of the two remaining seats. "So Sasuke how is it being genin?"

"Boring," he answered, starting to fixing his plate. "The missions they give us are so pointless."

"Don't scoff at the simple tasks, Sasuke. Even the smallest task is still a form of training, you may not realize it but you can hone the most basic of skills during D-rank missions."

"Are you telling me you gained your speed from raking leaves?" scoffed Sasuke.

Itachi chuckled, shaking his head. "Chasing Harada-san's cats. She lost those things daily. I was stuck chasing after them every day. I think it was the Sandaime's idea of a joke.""I believe it," Naruto coughed out through a mouth full of rice. His mother glared, the blonde swallowing with a gulp. "That old man was always giving my dad a hard time.""I have a random question," Sakura voiced, everyone at the table looking her. Her face reddened, her hands twisting her dress. "Um, Kushina-san, I noticed Naruto calls Kakashi-sensei by 'nii-san' and um, I was just wondering if you ever planned to have another child. Not that you have to! It just seems like Naruto likes to accommodate and well-"

"Don't be embarrassed," Kushina smiled. "That's quite an astute observation, actually, -ttebane. You see, Sakura-chan, I can't have anymore babies. Naruto was my only one so he thinks of Kakashi-chan and Sasuke-chan and even Itachi-kun as his brothers because he can't have one by blood."

"Oh, but why not?"

"Well, the Uzumaki are the hosts of the nine-tailed bijuu, Kurama. Uzumaki Mito was the host before myself and when she was close to passing I was chosen as the next host. However, during childbirth the seal weakens which is the perfect opportunity for extraction of the beast without harm to the host. Unfortunately, someone had planned ahead and had attacked us during the birth of Naruto here-actually, it's a long story, you probably don't want to hear it, -ttebane."

"The nine tails was released," Itachi continued. "I remember, because I could see it from here. Sasuke slept through the whole thing, but I remember seeing it. You really don't forget seeing something like that. That was the night Sandaime Hokage passed away, he was elderly then, and the story goes that as Yondaime Hokage prepared to end his life Sandaime Hokage stepped in, transferring all of his chakra to Yondaime before distracting the beast long enough for Yondaime to reseal it into Kushina-san. That is how history goes in the scrolls."

"That's about right, -ttebane," beamed Kushina. "Either way, the extraction and resealing not only thoroughly pissed off Kurama but ruined my chances of having children. Not that I regret it. I was ready to die that night protecting Naruto, it was thanks to my husband and Sarutobi-san that I got to see my little boy grow up."

"Events like that are what made my little boy a pacifist," Uchiha-san chipped in, giving her eldest son a bright smile."Eh? A pacifist, but Itachi-san, you're an ANBU, surely you've had to-"

"I do, what is necessary, even if I do not agree with it. There's something you'll learn to understand, Sakura-san. Obeying Shinobi law does not always mean listening to what is in one's heart. Doing what is right and doing what you believe is right are to completely subjective ideals. It's not the perfect life, and sometimes I truly wish I did not live it.""Now, Itachi, don't talk like that. What would Konoha do without you," his mother chided.

Itachi shook his head. "They have Sasuke, once he makes ANBU they won't need me anymore."

"Hey! You can't quit! You have to be my ANBU captain, you can't trust the next Hokage in the hands of that teme!"

"Language!" Kushina scolded, pushing on her son's head in warning.

"Trust me, Naruto-kun, Sasuke will be a much more capable ANBU captain. Better than I ever was," praised Itachi, making his brother hide his face in embarrassment. "Now, I believe we've been ignoring the lovely young lady. Sakura-san, we are well acquainted with each other, but we seem to not know you."

"Oh, um, I don't really have a special background or anything. I live with my mother, Mebuki, and father, Kizashi, in town and, um, I'm not sure what my ninja specialty is. I guess I'm good at learning things, and I learned E-ranked skills fairly quickly but I'm no prodigy like Sasuke-kun."

"Give it time, Sakura-chan, sometimes it takes longer to find ones specialty, -ttebane. Kakashi-chan will help you, no doubt about that. Just get his nose out of that book long enough and you'll be set," Kushina said, giving her a thumbs up, echoed by her son who also stuck his thumb out rather dramatically."Ah, it's getting quite late, you'll need a box to take to Hokage-sama," Uchiha-san said, getting up from her seat, heading to the kitchen for a box. "He doesn't like beets, right?"

"That's right! But give him extra radish, that way Naruto and I can pick them out for him, dattebane!"

"And give him a big slice of pie, -ttebayo! I need to sweet talk him to give us a good mission and we're out of mom's pie!"

"That's because someone snuck it into their room last night and finished it off, -ttebane."

"I can't help, -ttebayo. It was so delicious! Dad's right, -ttebayo, you make the best food in Konoha!Itachi stood, gathering his plate. "I'm going to excuse myself to bed. Sasuke, it's going to be chill tonight so you can sleep with me if you'd like."

"Nii-san! I'm not 5 anymore, I don't need to sleep with my brother like a child!"Sakura blinked, her attention turning to Naruto who was laughing hysterically. "T-teme still sl-sleeps with his 'nii-san'! C-can't br-breathe!"

"Shut up, dobe! You still sleep with a giant stuffed frog!"

"You leave Gama-chan out of this, teme!""Why is this about age? My room is more central so it's warmer as opposed to your room that's against an outside wall. It's sensibility, it has nothing to do with age," elaborated Itachi, as his mother brought back the leftover box.

"I would actually prefer you sleep in Itachi's room tonight, Sasuke. We can't have you catching chill and your father won't want to start a fire for a minor temperature fluctuation." She handed the box to Kushina, the red-head thanking her with another large smile. Kushina stood, tapping her son on the head, telling him to say his goodbyes so they could get going.

Naruto jumped up, waving his arms over his head, practically jumping up and down as he said goodbye to everyone repeatedly. Sakura watched as they said goodbye to each other like they were all family, and then she realized she had to work even harder to be just as important.

THEREISALINE THAT GOES HERE SO BLEH! LOOK! NONSENSE! P*%)* ##$POI

"Dad! We brought you dinner!" Naruto yelled, bursting into his father's office, holding the wrapped box.

"Thank you," he smiled as his son dropped the box ontop of the mountain of paperwork he still had. "Try to keep your voice down, you don't need to wake the village."Covering his mouth, Naruto whispered a sorry, climbing into a chair, folding his legs beneath him.

"Where's your mother?"

"Ah? She was right behind me?

"I was," Kushina chuckled, entering the office, closing the door behind her. "Then someone took off running. Mikoto hopes you can join us next time."

"I can try," he smiled, sliding some paperwork aside to bring his meal forward. Removing the fabric, he pulled the lid up, licking his lips. "This looks great, Mikoto really outdid herself. Nothing compared to my wife's cooking though.""Sooooooo," Naruto began, rocking back and forth. "I love you, daddy!"

Minato's chopsticks froze in mid-air, rice poised before his open mouth. His eyes closed, the rice finding his tongue, chewing thoughtfully. "What do you want this time, Naruto?"

"What? I can't just tell my dad I love him?"

"You can, but every time you use 'daddy' there's generally a request for money, toys, or trips to the beach accompanied on the end."

Knowing he had been caught, Naruto scratched his head, diving into his request. "I was wondering if you could find us a better mission to do! Something that's not lame like raking or chasing cats or something. You know, something that actually involves ninja skills, -ttebayo."

"I thought you didn't want me to give you special treatment? You wanted me to treat you like everyone else."

"I do! But come on, the hand book says genin are allowed C-rank missions, dattebayo! Can't you find us a good C-rank mission? Please?"Minato shook his head, digging around his box. "I was actually considering it. A request came in early for an escort to the Land of Waves. The man, Tazuna, needs protection from bandits is what the request says. It's something simple, but gives you a chance to get a bit of experience outside the village."

"Really?!" Naruto jumped up from his seat, running over and hugging his father. "You're the best! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" His elation was short lived as a realization hit him. They would be traversing to a village outside of Konoha, while it was still in the Land of Fire it was not Konoha, which meant one thing. "How many escorts are you putting on me?"

"One ANBU, who will be following in the shadows just to make sure the mission goes off without a hitch."

"DAD!"

"Naruto, no arguing. You're a genin and my son, and I've made a permanent spot in most of our enemy's bingo books and how do you think they'd get to me?"

His lips turned outward in a pout, his arms crossing over his chest. "Through me."

"Exactly. Your escort is just there to make sure no unwanted company comes through trying to get at you. They have also been forewarned that in the event that your chakra changes colors and becomes visible that are to incapacitate you immediately."

"Dad!"

"Naruto, there are to be no arguments on this subject, is that understood?"

"You're worrying about me like I don't know how to control it. I mean, Sasuke is with me, right? Mom said the love of a best friend, or family member, or a lover suppresses, dattebayo. Was that a lie?"

Kushina walked over to her son, wrapping her eyes around him, her hands over his stomach. "We're not worried about you're ability to suppress it, -ttebane. But you see how people regard me even if I am the Hokage's wife, very few accept me, -ttebane."

"Naruto," Minato stood, placing his hand on his son's head. "For your safety, we can not let it get out that you're the jinchuuriki, understand?"Naruto understood. No one could ever know that the beast they all ostracized his mother for being was actually himself. No matter what.

-chapter 2 end-


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Habenaria Radiata

Rating: M

Pairing: Pre-Sasuke/Naruto, hinted Zabuza/Haku

Warnings: light shounen-ai, poorly written fight scenes.

Summary: AU. Since the day he was born, Naruto was cursed. Cursed to be the son of the Fourth Hokage, cursed to the title through blood. But he's out to prove himself, to better himself and prove he's more than just his blood, more than just his father's son.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Author's Note: Here is chapter 3! Whoa! I actually REALLY don't like this chapter, but here it is regardless only because it's needed to bridge the gap to the real angst ahead. Who knows, maybe I'll rewrite it at a later date, I don't know. As it is, this is it for now, I couldn't even bring myself to re-read it and doing basic clean-up. Either way, I hope anyone reading this enjoys it. That aside, the next update will probably be Thursday, as I have a long shift at work tomorrow and no time to write, but I may upload a one-shot, who knows, we'll see how it goes. I hope you all enjoy

**Habenaria Radiata**

* * *

Naruto stared at the old man in a cone hat who stared back at them, peering down at them. "This is what my money gets me? Three kids?""They're trainees, I'm Kakashi Hatake, a jounin and they're sensei. So be assured if anything is to overwhelming I will be here to insure your safety," he smiled, his eye closing as his mask stretched.

"And what about that guy, lurking in the shadows," the old man question, thrusting his thumb toward the ANBU. They all looked to the masked ninja who wore a brown traveling cloak, while they could faintly tell they were male, they couldn't tell much else. "What's he doing?"

"He's an ANBU guard."

"ANBU?! I can't afford-"

"He's not for you," Kakashi clarified. "He's for the blonde right here."

"For this shrimp? He important or something?"

"Hey! I'm the next Hokage, dattebayo! You got that, old man! And it's not shrimp! It's Uzumaki Naruto!" he declared, turning around thrusting a thumb to the spiral adorning the back of his jacket.

"And this is of importance?"

Kakashi chuckled, grabbing Naruto's collar as the boy waved his fists in the direction of their patron. "Naruto here is the closest thing to what Konoha would call royalty. And Naruto, you can't pummel the man we're meant to protect."

"Let's get going, I want to get home before I die.""Of course, Tazuna-san," Kakashi smiled, dropping Naruto on his bottom, said blonde jumping up, rubbing his bottom.

"Usuratonkachi."

"Shut up, teme!"

Tazuna looked over the mismatched group, shaking his head before setting off. "If we keep following this path and take the left at the impasse it'll follow straight down to my village. We should get there in the morning unheeded, no trouble.

"This is so cool," Naruto cheered, arms folding behind his head. "I've never got to go out on my own before. I mean, I've been to Suna before, but that was with a full caravan and I had to wear this really stuffy shirt and cloak that mom picked out for me and it was really boring."

"Only you would complain about world travel, dobe."

"I'm not complaining but attending dinners is so boring. No one smiles or talks or anything. All you do is sit there, eat your dinner while the Hokage and Kazekage talk about whatever is they talk about, I don't know, I never paid attention. Then after that's all over they don't even give us dessert, which makes it even LESS worth it."

They continued on, Naruto telling them all what countries had the best desserts, none of which compared to his mother's own. Kakashi hummed, reading his book as he passed a puddle of water. Just as Naruto delved into a spiel about ramen, the puddles shifted, two rogue nin jumping forward, shooting chains from steel gauntlets. The genin took their stances, kunai at the ready as the ninja smirked, wrapping their chains firmly around Konoha's infamous copy ninja. His book fell from his hand, his eye widening. "No, it was just getting good!"

The ninja looked at him for a moment before recovering, jumping up and pulling the chains hard enough, pulling them straight through the jounin's body, ending his life.

They gasped in shock as their sensei dissolved into a spray of blood, the chains the nin had used falling loose. Their ANBU guard became visible as the man made a move to interfere, most likely to stop further deaths but Sasuke wasn't going to allow this. "Sakura, guard the target! Dobe, use your clones, surround them." The two looked at him before nodding, Sakura jumping in front of the old man, her stance firm, kunai out as her eyes trained on the area around. Naruto raised his hands, moving them in a rapid succession of signs before crying out. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Four identical Naruto's appeared, circling around the rogue nin, moving constantly to confuse them as to who the real version was. Sasuke nodded, disappearing before reappearing over head, the rogue nin focusing his attention on the onyx whose hands rapidly formed the seals for his fireball jutsu.

The rogue smirked, scoffing at how predictable they were making themselves, only the fire never came, instead he was knocked from behind by a rogue clone. Sasuke smirked, turning his body, aiming a direct kick to the assailants head, only to find his heel connect with a log and both nin gone.

"Where'd they go?" Naruto questioned, his clones looking around before disappearing to conserve his chakra."I don't know," muttered Sasuke, his eyes staying trained on his surroundings._Above you, kit_.

Naruto jumped at the voice before his reflexes kicked in, his eyes going upward in time to see a claw coming down. "Sasuke!" He pushed his friend aside, grabbing his kunai. Turning his body just enough to avoid being impaled, he shoved the kunai forward, smirking when it made contact.

"NARUTO!" He turned to Sakura, seeing the girl looking at him. Faintly, he realized something wet was pooling under his coat and when he looked back he realized it was the dead nin's claw, straight through his shoulder. The ANBU was at his side in a heartbeat, pulling the claw free, unzipping Naruto's jacket to access the damage.

"Alright, enough of that," Kakashi sighed, grabbing the second nin around the neck, pulling him from the trees.

"SENSEI?!"

"Simple substitution jutsu, I'm surprised you guys didn't catch on to that earlier. I'm disappointed." Walking over to Naruto and the ANBU, he looked over the blood stains. "What's the damage?"

The ANUB lifted Naruto's bloodstained t-shirt, eyes widening in shock. "Impossible."

"I'm fine, see?" he smiled, scratching his head. The ANBU's hand outstretched, running over pale smooth skin; unmarred skin. Sakura hurried over, gasping in shock.

"B-but we all saw…was it genjutsu?"

"Nope! I'm just a fast healer, that's all, -ttebayo. No need to worry!"

"Something you need to tell us, Tazuna-san," Kakashi questioned, grabbing the chain, wrapping it tightly around the rogue nin, dropping him on the ground."Just get me home, and I'll explain, that's all I ask."

Kakashi cast his eye to his ANBU brother, the man nodded his consent. "It is their duty to complete this mission, but after you are returned safely to the Land of Waves they no longer have an obligation, understood?"

Tazuna nodded. "I knew that from the beginning, so can we just get going, please?" The man gave no other word and began on his course again.

"Works for me!" Zipping his jacket back up Naruto took off, coming to stand next to Tazuna. "That was kind of fun, old man, maybe this won't be so boring after all."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! I'm totally fine, dattebayo. It completely missed me, just looked like it hit me, ehehe." _Or rather, your chakra healed me, didn't it, Kyuubi? Why are you talking to me now of all times?_ The Kyuubi gave no answers, but Naruto could see yellow eyes peering at him from behind red bars, a low growl echoing through the halls of his mind.

"I saw the blade pierce him, Kakashi," remarked the ANBU, eyes trained on the genin ahead, chatting animatedly. "I've never seen a through wound like that heal that quickly."

"His chakra?"

"It's strong, it always has been. If it was his chakra that healed him there was no fluctuation in his current flows of chakra. It's an anomaly I can not explain, but there is an option that might be considered."

"Hm?"

"His mother is the Jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed fox, she was when she was pregnant with him and it's possible the fox's chakra effected Naruto, which could explain his chakra, the healing, and his whiskered features."

"That is a possibility," Kakashi mused, rubbing his chin. "If other Jinchuuriki has bore children it's not widely advertised so adverse effects from the bijuu's chakra can't be completely ruled out."

"Hey! It's getting foggy!" Naruto shouted, looking around. "That's so random!"

"Kakashi, get them out of here, now!"

"And you'll handle what's coming on your own?"

"Don't be a fool, it's my job to protect Naruto."

"Unfortunately," Kakashi smiled. "You're not the lead on this mission, I am."

"Hatake Kakashi, the son of Konoha's White Fang and a nameless ANBU, I'll take pleasure in killing you both, hopefully you'll catch me a handsome bounty," a low voice echoed through the air, giving no hint to it's location.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, guard Tazuna, do not break ranks, no matter what!" Kakashi ordered, lifting his headband, revealing his red eye, the tomoe spinning as they adjusted to the fog and light around it.

"Sensei! We want to help, -ttebayo!"

"Part of being a good ninja is following orders."

The trees to the right gave a creaking groan, it was then Kakashi noticed the ANBU guard had disappeared, undoubtedly engaging in battle with their assailant. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, expanding his senses just in time to jump aside as a large blade stuck into the earth, the black haired wielder's eyes smirking as he dislodged the blade, disappearing into the mist. Their ANBU friend landed next to him, his hood having fallen revealing a black ponytail. "Itachi, this is not your mission."

"If it involves Naruto's life being directly in danger, it is. I recognize this ninja, he's an S-class missing nin, Momochi Zabuza from the Hidden Mist. He's in quite a few bingo books, what he is doing here is the question."

"Something tells me there's quite a bit more that Tazuna-san wasn't telling us. Can you dispel the mist?"

Despite the mask, Kakashi knew that Itachi was looking at him in question before the mist floated off before dispelling completely, leaving an empty battlefield. "All yours, Copy ninja."Kakashi nodded, preparing himself for the ensuing battle. Itachi moved, coming to stand close to his brother, their target, and his mission. This battle would be quick if Kakashi knew best and Zabuza seemed to have a similar urge as he was pulling out all the stops to ensure Kakashi a quick , the hairs on his neck stood on end, his senses prickling. They were not alone, there was another nin close by, watching. Their chakra was masked, Itachi was sure, which meant they were careful. Was this an ambush? It was likely, but they would have already attacked if that was their intention. With Zabuza distracted Itachi summoned a crow, sending it into the trees. "A hunter nin..?"

"Uhn.."

"What just happened?" Tazuna questioned, looking at the collapsed Zabuza, an incomplete water prison falling away from Kakashi, it's intended target."I apologize for interrupting, but I'll be taking him back with me now."

The hunter nin his crow had caught sight of appeared on the branch, the symbol of the Hidden mist bore proudly on the boy's forehead. The boy dressed in a green haori jumped down from his perch upon the oak tree, picking Zabuza up, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Thank you for your cooperation." Both men disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving both Itachi and Kakashi questioning what just happened.

* * *

"Do you understand the gravity of the situation, Tazuna-san?" scolded Itachi, in a manner not meant to demean but meant to inform, very much like a parent telling a child they're disappointed. They had only just arrived in the village, briefly greeting Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, and grandson, Inari, before Itachi whisked them off to set into his 'tirade'.

The old man looked at his hands, Tsunami poking in to apprehensively offer tea to which they all declined. "I didn't intend you all any harm, it's the simple fact that my land is not very affluent, we couldn't page your wages and-"

"Your error put not only your life in danger but three young genin lives in danger as well. We're not dealing with simple bandits here, we're now dealing with an ANBU ranked missing-nin and that 'hunter nin' was rather suspicious as well."

"You sensed it to then," Kakashi sighed from his spot against the wall. "I don't think that's the last we'll see of that Zabuza. Something about the way the hunter dealt with him was rather suspicious coupled with the fact that there was only one? No. For a high class nin such as Zabuza they would have sent at least three or four to deal with him, not one."

"Kakashi-sensei, does this mean we have to go back?" Naruto groaned, rocking forward into a sitting position. "Because, I mean if we're already here-"

"At this point, going back would just be a danger to both this village and Konoha, we'll have to deal with this Gato character as he'll no doubt be sending more -san, is this bridge absolutely worth this?" questioned Kakashi, looking at the older man who seemed deep in contemplation.

"It's more than worth it," he answered. "If we complete this bridge we'll be connected to the mainland again. That'll open trade routes, bringing in food and profits we didn't have access to before. You see what this village is like, think of what it could be given the time and the means."

"Then we have no choice, we'll stay till the mission is completed. That means you three will be starting more intensive training tomorrow morning, so you better get some sleep because I plan to wake you early," Kakashi beamed, looking at his stood, motioning with a shoulder shrug for them to follow him. "I can show you to your rooms."

"We can we get a big room? With lots of leg room? I need lots of leg room, -ttebayo."

Lingering behind, Sasuke stood, staring at his brother who was unmoving in his position. "Nii-san, I've asked you before but I'm going to ask you again. How do I activate the Sharingan?""I'm sorry, Sasuke, I can not tell you."

"Why not?!"

"I can't exactly say it's always better for it to come on naturally but, many Uchihas have lost their ability to use it by trying to force it to activate. Simply because the Sharingan activates doesn't mean the Uchiha can't forget how to use it. I'd much it manifest naturally, Sasuke, if I can phrase it that way."

"Fine," he sighed, stomping off to find his room by simply following the sound of Naruto's voice.

"EH?! Why do you have to put the packs in the middle, Sakura-chan?!"

"I'm a girl, you idiot! You boys can sleep on THAT side of the room and I'll sleep on this side of the room. Sasuke-kun can have that futon and you can have the one by the wall."

"But what if I wanted that one, -ttebayo? Why do I have to take the one by the wall?"

"Because I said so!"

The door slid open, Sasuke entering the small room. He looked around to see it was more than small, it was to the point that it could be considered tiny. Everything was bare save for the three futons spread out on the floor that filled the space wall to wall with no space between each. Sakura had set their packs between her futon by the door and the futon in the middle of the room, the last futon by the opposite wall which housed a window. "How is this considered a room?"

"Sasuke-kun! I set up your futon right here!" she greeted, patting the spot next to her."Thanks." He plopped down on the spot, laying back to stare at the ceiling.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-teme?"

"Naruto! Don't be so rude!" Sakura admonished, reaching forward to stroke Sasuke's hair. "Is something bothering you, Sasuke-kun? You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." He turned away from her touch, eyes turning to Naruto.

"We weren't even close to that Zabuza's level. Sensei even had trouble keeping pace with him."

"Well, we're still getting better, -ttebayo. With some training we'll be able to kick that Zabuza's ass all the way back to the Land of Mist."

"Realistically you're not going to get that good over night, Naruto. All we can do is go through the training Kakashi-sensei gives us and work our hardest to protect Tazuna-san!"

"You're both morons, turn the light off and go to sleep," Sasuke scowled, crawling under the sheet, covering his head. Sakura frowned but reached over none the less and turned off the lantern before laying down. The room slide into darkness, the faint flickering of a flame coming through the window. In the faint light she saw Naruto lay down on his side, covering most of his body with his blanket. He shifted slightly, sliding his hand under Sasuke's blanket. Sakura shifted, ready to jump out and yell at him when she saw Naruto pull his hand back, Sasuke's following it, smacking it before taking it in his own. In that moment, with his hand in Naruto's, the tension from Sasuke eased and both boys fell still in sleep leaving Sakura alone to her thoughts.

* * *

Two days later found it to be mid-afternoon and Sakura was, yet again, left to guard Tazuna as her teammates continued to hone their chakra control. When Kakashi-sensei had originally set the task she had assumed she'd be the worst at it but to her immense surprise she was the best. It was so easy she couldn't understand how the boys couldn't do it. Maybe it was because of the usual saying of 'a woman's touch'? Either way, she executed tree climbing with ease, even earning a compliment from Itachi after she demonstrated further skills set by Kakashi-sensei.

Deeming further training in control unnecessary for the girl Kakashi-sensei had set her with the task. Her first day on this task Tsunami had ordered her father to rest, leaving Sakura to wander the village, getting to know it's layout. Today they had taken tea out in the garden, or what they called a garden, as soil still resided in the beds but most of the crops had withered.

"I'm sorry if this is out of line, Tazuna-san, but I noticed there's a memorial in the town center. I saw your grandson standing out there on my way back and I thought I might ask about it. Was it Inari's father?" Sakura questioned, trying to break the silence. They had just returned from a full morning of bridge building and were now sitting down to Tsunami's afternoon tea.

"Biologically speaking, no, Inari never knew his real father, but that man was more of a father to him then he's ever had, I suppose. Kaiza was a wanderer, naturally he wandered his way right into our village and right into the hearts of everyone here. He was a strong man with an rather unassuming demeanor, your Naruto kind of reminds me of him, maybe that's why Inari kind of looks at Naruto strangely, tries to avoid him. Either way, Kaiza did his best to help everyone in this village, from helping old man Tatsuto fish to helping the young lady, Mitsuko with her groceries and house work. He taught Inari what it meant to be a hero. It wasn't about violence or fighting or raising a fist, it was simply caring about the ones you love and standing up for what you believe in; that's a true hero."

Sakura smiled, sipping the tea Tsunami had brought her earlier. "What happened to him?"

"Gato came and he didn't take well to the idea of heroes or standing up for what one believed. He and his cronies took it upon themselves to show what happens to heroes.

They used Kaiza as an example, tying him to a post and killing him in front of the whole village, even Inari. You can imagine the damage it had on the village's morale. We had no choice but to roll over and obey."Sakura frowned, looking down at her tea. "I'm not sure what we can do, Tazuna-san, but we'll try our hardest to make your village yours again."

Tazuna looked down at the young girl, reaching over and knocking her chin. "Look up when you say things like that, young lady, have more confidence in yourself, like that loud friend of yours. Before when you protected me you were much more steady, carrying yourself with confidences like that all time. No man wants a woman who stares at her feet."

"AH! Tazuna-san!" Sakura blushed, covering her face, laughs bubbling in her throat. "Thank you!"

"Oi, old man!" Naruto yelled, arm thrown over Sasuke, both boys thoroughly dirtied and exhausted. "I'm hungry, get me some rice."

"Don't collapse, dobe!" Sasuke yelled, being pulled down to the ground as Naruto fell forward, finally giving into his exhaustion.

"You guys make it finally," questioned Kakashi, looking at his non-existent watch. "That took you 24 hours less than I thought, but it's still been two days, we'll have to work on that when we get back home."

"I'll have barbecue pork ramen, extra egg," yawned Naruto, raising his face slightly from the dirt. "Make it two..got to keep training."

"Oi! Dobe! Dobe! Wake up! Get off me!" Sasuke pushed on his teammate trying to roll the blonde of him, Tazuna and Sakura laughing light heartedly at their predicament.

The next morning Naruto was the first awake, prying himself out from under Sasuke who tended to sleep more spread out than himself. Sakura hadn't realized her mistake in putting them next to each other, even as kids they tended to sleep in each others space with one leg here and an arm there, a spread of limbs and bodies. How they kept from harming each other in sleep was a mystery.

Once freed, Naruto ran out of the room, grabbing his sandals and pulling them on before taking off to the forest.

_Awake early, ne, kit?_

Naruto stopped in his tracks, turning every which way hoping to find the source of the voice. With great dejection he found no source and had to face the truth.

_I can feel your chakra, kit, amplify and swirling. It's rather delicious._

"Shut up, fox, I'm not talking to you."

_Yet, by answering you have in turn spoke to me._

Naruto closed his eyes, tuning out his inner voice before pooling his chakra to his feet, making a run for the tree. He scaled the arbor easily, running back down it backward before repeating, testing the limits of his control.

_Careful, kit, your hold will waver._

"Will not," spat Naruto, getting down in a crouch making his 50th run for the tree, making it half way up before his foot slipped and left his hanging from the side by his other.

_I told you._

Naruto ignored the chortling, trying to force his chakra back to his dangling right foot. The shift in concentration, however, caused his remaining chakra in his left foot to waiver, sending the boy crashing to the ground with a groan of pain.

"Are you alright?" A soft voice questioned, practically startling Naruto out of his skin. He hadn't heard one footstep and suddenly a person was here, that was strange. His father always said never trust a person that arrives in silence. Then again, the girl in front of him didn't exactly look like a threat, to the contrary she looked like a simple flower girl. "You're bleeding," she commented, kneeling next to him, pulling a bandaid from inside her pink shirt. "Can you remove your headband, please?"

"Eh? Ah!" He pulled it off, the girl leaning forward, black hair pooling over her shoulder as she shifted, securing the bandaid in place.

"What were you doing out here to cause so much noise?"

"I was training!"

Brown eyes blinked and then blinked again. "Training?"

"Climbing trees. I kind of get it now that Kakashi-sensei explained it to me, but it's still kind of confusing , then again, I have to have things explained to me more than once. I'm kind of slow, -ttebayo."

"Some would find that endearing, being slow that is. More patience is needed and it makes the bond between teacher and student stronger."

"You got a point there, sis!""Sis?"

"Sorry, I'm really familiar too, -ttebayo! Call it another weakness!"

"That's fine, but, I'm a boy."

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! BUT YOU'RE SO PRETTY! YOU'RE EVEN PRETTY THAN SAKURA-CHAN! Not as pretty as my mom, -ttebayo. BUT YOU'RE REALLY SUPER PRETTY!" he exclaimed, arm outstretched finger pointing accusingly at the boy.

The boy chuckled, covering his mouth to keep from laughing. "Thank you, I think."

"It's a compliment! I'm Naruto, by the way!"

"I'm Haku."

"WHOA! Even your name is pretty!"

"Thank you," Haku smiled, tilting his head in appreciation. "Ah! The shadows have changed, I better get back, everyone is going to wonder where I went!"

"Before you go, Naruto-kun, may I be permitted to ask you a question?"

"Eh? You don't have to ask to ask just go ahead and ask," he smiled, tying his hitai-ate back around his forward."You're a ninja, whose job it is to kill to protect your village, but is there one special person you've vowed to protect among all others?"

"That's an odd question, but hmm..I don't think I could really pick just one special person. There's my mom and my dad and Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke, and Itachi and Sakura-chan. I guess when it comes down to it, I want to protect everyone, dattebayo! Just wait till the bridge is finished, you'll visit Konoha one day and hear all about me as the Hokage!"

"That's a big dream."

"Do you have a big dream?"

"A big dream?" A smile graced Haku's lips, his eyes moving to the sky. "To be of use to my most precious person."

"Well, I bet you already accomplished that," Naruto beamed.

Standing, dusting off his kimono Haku graced him with a kind smile. "No, but sometime soon I hope to."

Jumping up, Naruto dusted off his pants. "I got to go, but I'm sure I'll see you around!" His goodbye behind him Naruto took off, waving as he went."I'm sure we'll meet again, Namikaze Naruto."

* * *

They had just arrived on a bridge, Tazuna ready for a hard day's work when a suited man caught their attention. He stood at the end of the bridge, arms crossed, sun gleaming off of tiny glasses covering beady eyes. To his left stood the green haori wearing hunter nin and to his left was none other than Zabuza, perfectly alive as they had all assumed. "Tazuna, glad you could join us," the man spoke, voice high and ratty. "I'm guessing you met my associates. They're here to finish the job they should have done in the first place, but from what I understand this little brat got in the way." The man Tazuna called Gato turned, gripping the hunter nin's wrapped bangs, the hunter nin lowering to his knees, staring up through his mask. Kakashi shifted forward, not liking the looks of this situation. It wasn't concern for what would happen to the young nin, it was what awaited Gato that was the current concern. Before any of them could make a motion to move or even think the hunter nin sprang back, leg kicking upward away from the man. The shipping magnate cursed and those were the last words to spring from his mouth as Zabuza's silver blade slide clean through his stomach. A look of shock remained on the dead's man's face, unchanging as Zabuza carelessly kicked the man over the edge of the bridge, his two halves separating before splashing into the water down below.

Zabuza moved to the nin, giving what seemed like a pat before turning to them. "Now that that fool is out of the way, we can finish what we started, Kakashi, and the Uchiha can join in this time. I'll take great pleasure in collecting both your heads." A low mist rolled over the bridge, acting as a barrier cutting off the groups. "Don't worry, the boy will take care of your students."

Sasuke and Sakura looked as they heard the clash of metal from the other side of the mist. "Your opponent is me," the hunter nin reminded, sending senbon to their feet to remind them of their current situation.

"Sakura, guard Tazuna-san, alright?"

She nodded, pulling him aside, placing her palms together, closing her eyes in concentration.

"Where are my men?" Tazuna questioned. "They should have been here."

"I don't know," she answered, her chakra radiating from her palms forming a green sphere like barrier, blocking out the mist and clearing the air. "But I'll protect you, Tazuna-san."

He nodded, thanking the young girl, his vision honing in on the other teammate as the boy went soaring with a straight kick from the hunter. Luckily, he skidded to a halt on his feet some feet away, his eyes narrowed in determination as he made a run at the other male again. Jumping in the air Sasuke opened his fuma shuriken, sending it soaring at the hunter, said boy jumping over it before hitting the ground, making a run for his target again.

Gaining his composure quickly, Sasuke dodged the senbon thrown at him, noting the mist shifted as the hunter moved. It was then he noticed the growing amount of water on the bridge, perhaps from some kind of water jutsu Zabuza had used, he wasn't sure as he was unable to see past his opponent. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, ignoring his brother as the hunter sank into the water. He kept his stance, watching each puddle carefully, waiting for the teen's reemergence.

The world around him was oddly quiet, even on the other side of the mist where he knew Kakashi and Zabuza were most likely still battling fiercely. For a moment he allowed his mind to wonder his brother's part, but shook his head, working on deciphering where the nin would appear.

Only it wasn't the nin rising from the ground. Instead the ice began to rise from the water, sliding into sheet by sheet, enclosing him in what could only be a cage. "What is this?"

"One needs caged bait to attract it's prey."

"Bait?"

"I will not kill you, unless I have no option," the masked nin said. Sasuke gasped in pain as a hit seemed to come out of nowhere, and then another and another. He fell to his knees, blood seeping out of his wounds. The other was moving to fast to follow, moving from mirror to mirror, faster than his eyes or brain could process. Inside here he was trapped. He closed his eyes, trying to hold his form as more attacks came out of the mirrors, furthering cut his body.

Shakily, he stood to his feet, opening his eyes just as the boy came out the mirror at a much slower rate than before. Taking his chance he reacted, jumping into the air, rotating his body forward, sending his heel into the boy's stomach. The hunter groaned as he was slammed to the ground, gasping in surprise before recovering , tossing Sasuke's foot away before jumping back into his mirrors.

He turned, his eyes landing on his own reflection, red eyes staring back at him. "Finally."

"Oi, Sasuke-teme! How's it going?!"

Sasuke turned, surprised to see Naruto on his bottom, scratching his hand from having slipped on a puddle of water. "Naruto…"

"I came to help. What are with these mirror, -ttebayo."

"Where did you…?

"OH, there were these goons in the village that woke me up so I beat up good, -ttebayo, and then I ran here because I was really really late and I saw you and thought I would help and I think Kakashi-sensei was yelling something at me but I couldn't hear him, -ttebayo and-"

"You idiot," he sighed, shaking his head. "Now you're stuck as well."

"Eh? Stuck?"

Covering his face with his hand he pointed at the masked nin in the mirror who was standing still, watching them. "Well, why can't we just run out?" With such a simple minded thought in his head, Naruto ran the way he came, immediately pushed by his opponent.

"I can not allow you to leave, Namikaze Naruto."

His eyes widened. "EH?! You know me?!"

"The bait for prey..? You were using me to trap Naruto," Sasuke deduced.

"That is correct. I wish for Namikaze Naruto to be my opponent."

"But why me? Are you trying to start a war?"

The boy shook his head. "Nothing like that. Now, stand and fight."

"I'm really confused."

"Dobe, we don't have time to figure out motives right now, we need to try and break out of this ice."

"What kind of ice is it?"

"Does it matter?"

"YEAH! I actually remember my dad talking about this one about people with an ice kekkei genkai so that the ice can't melt or be broken by taijustu or ninjutsu, -ttebayo! I do pay attention sometime."Sasuke sighed, quickly forming the seals for Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu. A large fire mass soared to the mirror, bouncing off before dissipating. "It's a kekkei genkai," deadpanned Sasuke. "Will you please make you're mind up on whether you're intelligent or not, dobe?"

"Eh?"

Naruto shook his head. "We just have to knock that guy out of there." Hands rapidly moving he formed several familiar seals, his clones appearing all at once, charging at the mirrors. Sasuke felt his eye twitch in annoyance. Best friend or not, Naruto was going to end up getting them killed.

The hunter nin easily took the clones out, Naruto landing next to Sasuke, panting slightly. "That didn't work, dattebayo."

"What is with you?"

_Tell him the truth, kit, tell him you're scared he'll find out about your little secret. About us. You've been worried for days, haven't you? You're acting recklessly, kit._

'It has nothing to do with you, so butt out!'

_Oh? Or maybe you're trying to make that ninja go after Sasuke. How disappointing it much have been for him to find out that nin wasn't even interested in him, just wanted to use him to get to Namikaze Naruto, son of the fourth hokage._

Shaking his head, he looked at Sasuke. "What do you think we should do, teme?"

"Think you can make those clones again?" he questioned, watching as the hunter multiplied, an image of the boy appearing in each mirror as he planned his next attack. "Enough to cover every mirror?"

"That's a lot.."

"Can you do it? He'll have no where to run in that case. We attack all at once and he's trapped."

Naruto nodded, beginning to form the seals, focusing his chakra to split it enough to make the correct number of clones. The hunter readied senbon between his fingers, as the clones got in place, Naruto mixed in with them, a low clone staying next to Sasuke. "Move as one," Sasuke ordered. "Confuse him."

The Narutos nodded, jumping up as one, raising their fists their intent clear. Sasuke stayed to the middle, eyes moving frantically until he caught sight of the real nin's mirror. Gathering his chakra into his fuma shuriken he pulled the weapon out, jumping up and sending it flying straight through the clone. The ice gave a crack as the shuriken planted itself firmly into the block.

"Hm, you cracked my ice, impressive. Your friend was not so lucky."

Sasuke jerked at the taught, turning to see Naruto kneeling on the ground, senbon sticking from him in every way possible. The blonde was a panting mess but still he smiled. "Damn, found the real me."

He stared stunned as the form stood, his hands moving slowly to form the seals for another shadow clone jutsu. "This is goodbye, Namikaze Naruto, know I do this with deep regret."

Sasuke didn't even think, his body merely reacted, Naruto's eyes widening in shock as Sasuke jumped in front of him taking the senbon rain for him. "Ow!"

"Teme! What did you do that for, -ttebayo?!"

"Dobe, that attack would have killed you, nnh…damn, this hurts." He fell to his knees, blood dribbling from his mouth. His muscles were locking up from extreme precision seizing his already battered body, he looked at his friend wondering how the blonde could even still be standing. "Tch' m-maybe you are stronger than you look, dobe," he coughed, now feeling every bit of pain his body had. His eyes closed, his body falling forward, Naruto catching him.

"Teme! Oi! Teme! Wake up! Come on, it doesn't hurt that much, -ttebayo! Come on! Uchiha's don't get taking down by pointy sticks!" Naruto yelled, tears beginning to fall down his whiskered cheeks. His body was shaking, his hands trembling as he lowered Sasuke to the ground. The energy that had abated him previously was returning full force, his eyes narrowing in his anger.

A warm energy began to envelope him, as his teeth sharpened, pressing against his lip, drawing blood. His hands, now claw like, dug into the concrete, his body seemingly fueled on pure anguish.

His head turned to the sky, a growl ripping from his throat as he charged at the mirrors. The hunter moved, Naruto breaking through the ice before going back again, attacking over and over till the boy had no choice but to escape back to the bridge, the mist beginning to clear. The boy hesitated just long enough for Naruto to send him flying with a hard punch.

Down on all fours Naruto charged at the nin, the boy jumping back and back, trying to avoid the red fox ninja as he somehow appeared everywhere. It took one blink and Naruto was behind him, kicking him forward.

The fox stopped, panting as he stared, licking his lips. "Get up!"

The hunter stood, his mask clanging to the ground as he turned to face his opponent.

"You."

"Go ahead, finish me off, I have lost," Haku whispered, his head down. "I killed your friend."

Naruto growled, punching the boy in the face, sending him flying back. Haku regained his footing, standing there as he bled. Naruto raised his fist to attack again when a chirping made Haku grab his wrist. Cat eyes shifted to the right to see a battered Zabuza attempting to avoid a lightning on the end of Kakashi's hand. Haku twisted away, making a run for his partner, not expecting Naruto to be on his heels, pouncing on his back, slamming him into the ground.

"NO!" Haku screamed, struggling under the weight of the boy atop him, trying to get away. "NO! ZABUZA-SAN!"

Zabuza turned his face towards the sobbing boy, his mouth wrappings ripped open revealing pointed teeth. "Thank you, Haku."

"NO! NO! LET ME GO! GET OFF ME!"

Naruto tilted his head, looking down at the sobbing boy. His mind began to clear as he stared at the tears streaming down the young boy's features. His chakra withdrew, his hands, teeth, and features returning to normal as he moved aside. Haku jumped up, sprinting towards his partner, taking ahold of him as Kakashi withdrew.

"Zabuza-san! Zabuza-san, please!"

"Itachi, watch the boy," Kakashi whispered, walking towards where Sasuke lay. Naruto looked at him, frowning.

"I'm sorry, I tried to…he jumped in the way…"

Kakashi patted Naruto on the head, kneeling next to the still Uchiha. "You did well, Naruto."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled, running over, kneeling next to them. "Is he….?"

Itachi looked over at them before turning his attention to the grieving boy. Haku shifted, laying Zabuza down before pulling out a senbon needle. "Don't," Itachi ordered, grabbing his hand.

"LEAVE ME!"

"I won't watch a child kill himself."

"Than you kill me! DO IT! I killed your brother! You must want revenge! KILL ME! KILL ME!"

Itachi took the boy's wrist, pinning it behind his back. "I do not believe you killed him and I do not believe you wish to die."

"Zabuza-san was my only reason for living without him I…" Haku cut off in a gasp, brown eyes boring into swirling red, his mind going blank. Slowly a smile spread across his face, his eyes closing.

"Nii-san…"

Itachi allowed himself a small smile. "Not bad, little brother."

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Naruto asked quietly.

The boy, dressed in his pink kimono, looked up at him giving him a small smile. "Yes, thanks to Itachi-san. Are you and your friend going to be okay?"

"I'm completely fine," he chuckled, scratching his head. "But Sasuke is pretty beat up, he's trying to convince Itachi to give him a piggy back ride home."

"I'm sorry to cause you such pain, I didn't not aim to kill either of you."

"No. No. I'm sorry, I beat you up really bad and I'm really sorry, -ttebayo."

Haku shook his head. "It's fine, it was fun."

"So, um, when the bridge gets done feel free to come visit, okay?"

Haku looked at the sword sticking in the ground next to him, the small cross in front of it marking his new mission in life. "Maybe one day, for now I will stay here and protect Zabuza-san."

"Right, well, I got to go. Bye, Haku, it was nice meeting you, dattebayo." Waving he took off running, going to catch up with his friends, leaving the former mist nin sitting alone on the hill overlooking the village below. "So Itachi-san, what exactly did you do for him?" Naruto questioned, joining the group where Sasuke had officially conned his brother into a piggy back ride.

"Hm, on the bridge, you mean?" Naruto nodded. "I used my sharing an and showed him what he wanted, an eternity with his dearest person. While he was distracted I extracted Zabuza's chakra and placed it into a seal on the boy's, Haku, wrist."

"OH! That's what that wrap was! What does it do?"

"In essence, it will allow him to speak with a his most dearest whenever he wants, essentially keeping Zabuza alive inside him for as long as he lives."

"That's so nice of you, Itachi-san," cooed Sakura.

"I would want someone to do the same for me if I ever lost Sasuke, I'd suppose." He looked back at his brother who had fallen asleep against his shoulder.

"Mah, that's so corny," Naruto shouted, crossing his arms behind his head. "Ne, when we get back to Konoha can we go to Ichiraku?"

"Naruto! No one wants ramen!," Sakura complained.

"Lies! Everyone wants ramen, dattebayo! Everyone, Sakura-chan!"Haku chuckled as he listened to the faded shouts of 'ramen, ramen, ramen' in the distance. His eyes turned upward to the blue sky above. Bringing his wrist to his mouth he pressed his lips delicately to the wrap. "Zabuza-san…"

_I love you._

-chapter 3 end-


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